


What are you scared of?

by RevolutionVoltage



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Gryffindor Louis, M/M, Slytherin Harry, a lot of teasing, and fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-27
Updated: 2015-02-27
Packaged: 2018-03-15 11:59:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3446375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RevolutionVoltage/pseuds/RevolutionVoltage
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis doesn't exactly hate Defence against the Dark Arts, but when he has to face his deepest fear (in form of a Boggart) in front of the whole Slytherin house and Harry Styles, he kind of wishes nobody was looking.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What are you scared of?

  The violent wobble of the black mahogany wardrobe wasn’t reassuring at all.  

Louis was trying to become a whole with the yellowish back wall of the Defence Against the Dark Arts room like any other third year students from the Gryffindor and Slytherin houses. 

The professor who got the chair that year was an odd man, but still a capable professor and wizard.  Therefore, he had perceived his students' hesitancy in doing the exercise assigned.

Louis looked around rather widely, searching in his classmates’ faces the courage to volunteer;  he got disappointed in the lack of initiative and boldness they showed.  He searched far and wide. They were Gryffindors, Merlin’s beard! If they hadn’t the guts necessary, who should have? Maybe those coward and sly people from Slytherin.

 Talking about Slytherin… Louis got slightly off the wall, just to face his arch enemies’ lines, in the faint hope that someone of them would volunteer. Obviously, he wasn’t surprised in finding groups of boys and girls chatting lovely, clearly ignoring the professor and his lesson. Only one of them wasn’t talking with the other schoolmates. 

Harry Styles was captivated by something.

 No, it wasn’t the schoolwork that they were going to do. 

The Gryffindor blushed when he finally noticed Harry’s persistent gaze on him.

 Louis dropped his eyes on the book in his hands and he took a deep breath. Right after having taken knowledge of his stupid and illogical reaction, he lifted his proud gaze and he pointed it with decision in the Slytherin’s green eyes. 

Harry grinned, amused, and he slightly shook his head, taking a better position on the wall to Louis’ right, a folded leg with the sole of the shoe leaned on the cold bricks and the arms hermetically crossed on his chest, giving him that air of audacity and superiority like all Salazar’s sons. 

But there was something more.  Something in his eyes and his beautiful smile.  Something which made Louis’ knees shaken. 

Lately it had been often occurring to the Gryffindor to turn around and find Harry’s emerald eyes fixed on his.  But even if he was flattered and it made him feel really well to be desired, it also embarrassed him. 

It was known that Slytherins were naughty and that simply loved good sex. 

And yes, he obviously thinks about that too.  He was a boy and he had some impulses.  All his impulses were inevitably stimulated by the body of the Slytherin that now was talking with the professor using a language surely impolite and rude. Louis found himself thinking how it would be to feel the vibrations of Harry’s hoarse voice pulsing directly against his eardrum maybe during a warm hug or something more than that. 

«Since no one, as Mr.Styles pointed out, would volunteer to tackle this boggart then it’ll be better if we change completely the approach to the lesson. Open your book at the page 394. Read and ask if you don’t understand something.» 

The whole class calmed down and everybody, except some Slytherins, opened their books. 

«During the second part of the lesson, you’ll personally face your deepest fears.» 

Everybody snorted: they were drowning again in a situation which they thought they had escaped.  A hand flew towards the ceiling, while Louis was placing himself in a single seat and started flipping through the old pages of his book.

 «Excuse me, Professor, I don’t have the book.» 

Louis flicked his gaze to the curly haired boy, still leaning on the wall, as if it was a leather sofa of the common room. 

«Come on, Mr.Styles, you are not at your first year anymore. Find someone with the book and read. I won’t exonerate you from the work with such a stupid excuse.», said the professor resigned, turning towards the teacher’s desk and grumbling on about the Slytherin’s complete lack of organisation - never with the school equipment required. 

Harry smiled, showing the satisfaction of someone who got exactly what he wanted. 

At slow pace, studied - and sensual, Louis would have dared say - he approached the Gryffindor’s desk and, after having addressed to him an umpteenth smile as innocent as Snow White’s poisoned apple, he spoke to him. 

«May I be your partner?»  Louis elaborated the question, realizing the double sense.

 He was trying and find a convincing way to explain to his conscience that there was nothing bad about answering yes, that Harry had already taken away a chair from a girl with the red and gold uniform and seized it, sitting at Louis’ left.

 «That was very rude of you.» Louis started, quite indignant. «I didn’t say I’m fine with it.» 

Harry smirked, almost pleased, and Louis asked himself if it had ever occurred to that boy not to laugh in his whole life.  It was almost irritating. 

Harry lowered himself and getting close to Louis’ ear he whispered, brushing Louis’ ear lobe with his lip, «We both know you want this. Don’t be so scared of yourself.»  Louis shivered from head to toe and closed his eyes. 

He leaned on the seatback of the chair and opened his eyes again. Styles’ satisfied expression showed he didn’t miss the shiver incited from Louis that his voice had produced and he was somehow proud of that. Louis tried to keep his destroyed dignity together, pointing his eyes to the pages of the book and answering with sarcasm, «In case you haven’t notice, the Sorting Hat assigned me to the House of Godric Gryffindor.» he said pointing eloquently to the uniform, «This means that, as everyone in Gryffindor, he saw in me talent, loyalty and bravery. I’m not scared.» Harry leaned on the seatback, locking the arms on his chest again, «Not when it comes to feelings. Here, Slytherins are way superior. We know are soul is dirty and we’re destined to suffer and to hurt and despite this, we carry on.»

 Harry answered with an indistinguishable expression: his face was tough, but his eyes shining, maybe softened by the words he was saying. 

«Oh, please! I can’t think of nothing in which Slytherins are better than Gryffindors. », said Louis starting to get worked up.  Harry got closer to him, just because, without ulterior motives, pulling back his chair, as if staying closer to Louis was just enough to alleviate the pain in the green of his eyes.

 «Besides from accepting ourselves, we’re mean and even if there was a feeble flame of good inside us, it would be quickly suffocated by the cold hard and treacherous masks that the world and the Sorting Hat put on our faces. We can’t do nothing but accept it, accept ourselves.» 

The more Harry spoke, the more Louis could notice the sincerity coming from his red and full lips, the more he could get enchanted in staring Harry’s ice armour melting. 

Just for a few, infinitesimal seconds.  Right when the Gryffindor, following his crazy heart’s suggestion, was about to pull over and hug him, Harry decided it was now time to put on his mask again, «Your worst nightmares are all reality. Us Slytherins have always been and will always be better than you, no matter what house you’re from.», he ended, mocking.

 Louis sighed, slightly disappointed. For a moment, just for a moment relatively short, it had seemed to him as Harry had a heart and feelings. 

He returned to focus on the book, shaking slightly his head.  He had almost managed to finally find the page he was searching – his classmates were already absorbed by the reading of the second paragraph – when he felt a strange heat wrapping him up and a hand resting on his right knee. 

He opened his eyes wide, confused by the annoyance of that touch, distracted by a sweet grasp on his stomach and he looked up at the boy sitting next to him.  Way too close to him, Louis noticed. 

When did he get this closer?  Harry’s indistinguishable and mysterious expression drove crazy the only side Louis was trying and keep under control. 

His red lips, a couple of centimetres from Louis’ neck, were childish and sweet as well as hot and forbidden.  The Slytherin’s gaze was focused on the reading of the book, whose pages were untouched by Louis’ shaking hands. Harry’s warm breath was fiddling with Louis’ skin, producing pleasant thrills along his spinal column.

 Nevertheless, it was clear that Harry didn’t care much about the lesson, but he was more interested in Louis’ physiological reactions to his breath and to his extremely tangible closeness.

 Louis couldn’t calm himself, his accelerated breath and the continuous movement of his left leg badly disguised the excitement that his eyes were somehow trying to deny.  Harry didn’t even try and suppress the smile of pure satisfaction painted on his face, seeing Louis so sensitive to his touch. He took courage and began to brush Louis’ leg with his hand, slowly, faking a completely casual movement, giving by the focus of the reading. 

The Slytherin heard Louis holding his breath and, delighted by this, he pushed his hands higher. 

It took just a few movements to irritate Louis, who hissed, «Could you please stop?»

 «What? Does it bother you? I think it’s relaxing.», Harry provoked him innocently. 

«Well, I don’t think so! Actually, it bothers...», the words drowned in Louis’ throat. 

Telling Harry Styles that his brushing distracted him and excited him to the point he couldn’t even read wasn’t such a great idea. 

«Mmh? », asked the Slytherin, starting again the slow movement with the hand and moving up slightly on the inside of Louis’ thigh. 

Louis half-closed his eyes and his lips parted a bit automatically under Harry’s insisting hand, then the chatting of his classmates brought him back to reality.  To the reality in which Harry, the Sltyherin - all magnetic eyes and hot body - was quite not modestly proposing him a hand job in the Defence Against Dark Arts room.  If anyone had caught them they would have been expelled right away and this was a price that Louis wasn’t about to pay.

 Maybe Harry, but not Louis. 

Louis wasn’t about to give one of his worst enemies the satisfaction and let be touched probably for a bet with his mean friends.  Maybe for Louis, letting be touched by Harry was worth more than something to throw away like this, also risking his skin.

 Maybe Louis felt something for Harry and, always maybe, he had figured it out when, while having dinner in the Great Hall, his gaze was always looking for the curly haired boy’s one, among the Slytherins, and he always found it fixed on him. 

«St-Stop it.», he finally stuttered, blushing and pushing Harry’s hand away. 

The Slytherin smiled again and lied both his hands on the table, near the book that no one was reading.

 Louis was almost back to his normal colour, when the professor’s voice called for attention. «I hope you have understood something about this paragraph. And I also hope that you’re now psychologically ready to face a boggart.» 

How much time has passed?  Louis couldn’t really tell.  The closeness with Harry Styles was quite messing up with him. 

He shot a glance to the boy sitting next to him, out of the corner of their eyes, and he found him quiet, arrogant and beautiful as usual. 

He sighed heavily and he placed himself better on the chair, crossing his legs under the table.  «So, does anyone would like to try?», the professor asked hopefully. 

The Gryffindor looked around him, wishing for a raising hand more than at the beginning of the lesson, but he was disappointed, exactly like the previous time.

 «C’mon, Gryffindor! Where’s your bravery? Where’s your spirit of adventure?», the man went on, demoralized. 

Something in Louis’ chest was pushing to come out.  Somebody would have called it “the griffin DNA”, but Louis saw it only as a wish to capture Harry’s attention on himself.

 So, without really thinking about it, he put up his hand, astonishing every wizard and witch in the room, himself included. 

«There, finally a young and brave wizard! Tomlinson, please, come here.» and with a swirl of his cloak, the professor stepped aside, letting Louis a clear field.  Louis’ legs were shaking uncertain, but step by step they brought him in front of the wardrobe. 

He could feel everyone’s eyes on him.  Harry’s gaze was producing heat along all his back.   

Louis tried and looked at him, a bit for taking courage, a bit to control his reactions.  Was he ridiculous?  Was he sexy? 

He just hoped he wouldn’t screw it up.

After all, showing his worst fear in front of two Houses – and one was Slytherin – was a thing that really needed some courage.  He smiled at himself and, aware of Harry’s emerald gaze on him, he faced the mahogany chest with a secure «I’m ready.» 

He brandished his wand and waited, listening in silence to the creaking of the wardrobe bursting open.  For a handful of seconds, during which everyone in the room kept his breath, nothing occurred. 

Then, a hand came out from the wardrobe, leaning on the edge.  Louis strained to see, in the effort to fathom what it was happening and he remained completely shocked when he found right in front of him, his double. 

No, not his double.  It was himself. 

The same crumpled uniform, the same blue eyes and the same ruffled hair.  His smile, though, had something different.  It seems relaxed, self-confident.  It made him look as the best bastard ever. 

Yes, bastard, but also overweening and with a high level of self-esteem.

 Louis decided to wait before using the charm because he wasn’t afraid of himself, it didn’t make any sense.  He was about to turn and ask the professor if maybe that boggart wasn’t faulty or what when his double moved his first steps.  Louis’ focused on his double and raised his wand, every single nerve stretched. 

But his double didn’t paid attention to him, he moved on sure feet towards the crowd of students which surrounded the teacher desk. 

Everyone backed away frightened and the boggart didn’t stop until he arrived a metre from Harry Styles. 

The Slytherin wasn’t scared at all, he raised his eyebrow, amused and surprised. 

Louis was now really afraid of what it was going to happen.  Anything that the boggart wanted to do was about Harry and while leaning forward and putting his arms gently around his shoulders he involved him in a passionate kiss. 

Harry seemed sincerely amused and maybe a bit wrapped up by the situation, he maybe even forgot that it was a boggart that was rubbing against his body in front of the whole classroom, Louis thought.  He wasn’t able to think now; his brain was overloaded with information to process. 

His arms fell heavy along his hips, his eyes filled with tears for the humiliation and his gaze was running on the mocking faces of his classmates.  That was scaring: to be object of derision, to be humiliated for having kissed a boy, for having kissed Harry Styles, the Slytherin. 

The same Harry whose hands Louis wanted on his hips, not on the hips of that bloody boggart with his aspect.  He was having fun, huh? 

Everyone was laughing way too much for his liking.

 « _Riddikulus!_ » he shouted with rage and pain. 

In a moment, everything was over.  Harry remained still, hands in mid-air, his eyes veiled by a light pleasure and his gaze fixed on Louis.  

The others, instead, were still laughing and the Gryffindor could hear the jokes and insults from every corner of the room mainly among the Slytherins. 

He was paralyzed, his lost stare pointed at a useless tile of the grey floor. 

«Uhm...Well done, Tomlinson. Great job. You may go now.», said the professor, a bit embarrassed, leaning a hand on the shoulder like a father and gently pushing him out of the group of students.  It took a few minutes for Louis to pull himself together, but, when he did, he burst into crying and ran away from the room without the courage to face anyone.

 The last words he heard, before the slamming of the heavy wooden door, was the call to order of the professor, some sneering laughter and Harry’s voice, shouting something. 

He ran breathlessly along the stone corridors, as cold as his body right in that moment. 

He had lost the chance to have a relationship with Harry Styles, he had lost his pride and he had lost that bloody mask which he had been wearing the whole year when he hanged around the school hand in hand with Eleanor, the brown-haired girl from Hufflepuff who he called ‘his girlfriend’.

 Now, his tired legs were giving out, the tears were streaming down his face and he was sliding down along a cold wall of the Transfiguration wing.  He had been sighing for a couple of minutes when a sound of steps woke him out of the trance-like state. 

He wiped his tears, hoping not to meet someone important for his life when he lifted up his gaze and every hope fell to pieces.  A breathless Harry Styles, with red cheeks and a crumpled shirt was reaching for him: he was beautiful. 

«Hey», he said gasping for breath, stopping in front of him.

 «Hey», Louis said, embarrassed. He sniffed and Harry shifted his weight from a leg to the other, he was not at ease.  Curious, Louis thought, he’d never seen Harry like this before.  That insecurity made him seem more human and, in Louis’ opinion, more perfect. 

«I looked for you everywhere! Since you left the room I chased after you, but you run way too fast! I guess all that Quidditch is very good for your breath.», said Harry, calmly crouching down. 

They were now at the same height.  Louis gave him a light smile, he was happy now.  At least Harry was still talking to him. 

«Did the professor let you get out?», Louis asked a bit surprised. As if this was the right question to ask, and not _“Why did you look for me?”_. 

«Actually, no, he had something to complain about. I guess I’ll spend some Saturday afternoons with him, but he could go fuck himself.», Harry answered with a shrug. 

Louis lowered his gaze on his knees curled up to his chest.  That was the Styles he knew, the careless Slytherin: the impulsive, interesting and magnetic Harry Styles. 

«I just wanted to be sure you were alright, that’s all.», he added softly.  Louis’ hopeful eyes snapped to Harry’s face.  Harry always looked calm and a small light smile made his face the most beautiful thing Louis had ever seen. 

Harry quickly sat next to the Gryffindor, leaning his back on the cold wall, and then he turned towards Louis.  Louis felt the pressure of Harry’s gaze on him and he wasn’t really at ease with his shoulder against Harry’s shoulder.  

Louis took a deep breath and then said, «Listen, about what happened before...I don’t want you...» 

«You don’t have to explain, okay? I understand you.», started Harry. «Actually, I can understand you more than you think.», he said turned better towards Louis. 

Then he leant and brushed his hand across Louis’ cheek, trying and reassure him.  Louis felt a deep heat in his stomach, a feeling of power and happiness at the same time. 

He turned towards Harry, he was calm now. 

«It’s just that...I like you and I really don’t know how to handle this. And when I won’t able to handle it anymore, I’ll be very scared.», Louis said with a really low voice, while closing his eyes, almost not breathing to speak.

 With his eyes closed, Louis didn’t see that Harry was blushing because of his words.  That blushing clashed with the stereotype of bad boy that Harry had meticulously built of himself. Louis hid his face in his hands and he leaned on his knees, «I shouldn’t tell you this. Now, you’ll go and tell your friends and you’ll be fucking around Tomlinson, the fag.», he said, disconsolate. 

Harry took Louis by the wrist and he tried and pulling away his hands from his face.  «Look at me.»

 Louis hesitated, but Harry’s voice was so seductive and powerful and it didn’t accept replies.  When their eyes met, they both felt a shaken along the spinal column and they both shivered. 

«You’ve the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen.», said Harry, approaching Louis a little bit more.  The atmosphere was sweet and wrong at the same time.  Time was frozen and clearly no one of them would complain about the cold stone of the wall. 

«I’d never allow them to say something like that, Louis.», Harry whispered while moving his gaze far and wide on Louis’ face.

 «I shall say that you shouldn’t be scared to not be able to handle your feelings ‘cause you should just ride them, go along with them, and live them. Don’t be afraid of who you are. You are perfection.» 

Louis lost something like a hundred of heartbeats.  All that situation, the inexistent distance between their faces and those words, so sweet and unexpected, were driving him crazy. 

«I just want to say another thing, if you let me, Gryffindor...», Harry asked rhetorically, wearing again that damn mask which Louis was very fond of. 

Louis nodded, excited and frightened by how Harry himself had understood him.  Harry put his red lips close to Louis’ ear lobe, whispering in his ear the world’s most ancient secret.

«...I like you too.» 

No one of them managed to catch a glimpse of their smiles because a moment later they were locking that conversation with a wishful and sincerely happy kiss. 


End file.
